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AN 



ANNIVERSARY DISCOURSE, 



DELIVERED AT DUDLEY, MASSACHUSETTS, 



MARCH ao, 1853. 



WITH TOPOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL 
NOTICES OF THE TOWN. 



BY JOSHUA BATES, D. D, 




BOSTON: 

PRESS OF T. R. MARVIN, 42 CONGRESS STREET. 
1853. 

V 



DISCOURSE. 



1 SAMUEL VII." 12. 

THEN SAMUEL TOOK A STONE AND SET IT BETWEEN iMIZI'EH AND 811 LN; 
AND CALLED THE NAME OF IT EBENEZER, SAYING: HITHEIITO HATH 
THE LOKD HELPED US. 

It was to Samuel an occasion of great interest, 
when he performed this significant act, and uttered 
this language of pious gratitude. The Philistines, 
in the time of Eli, his predecessor in office, had 
defeated the armies of Israel ; and taken and car- 
ried away the ark of the covenant. But hy the 
miraculous interposition of Heaven, the Philistines 
were led to fear the ark, and cause it to be sent 
back to the borders of the land of Israel ; and sub- 
sequently to flee before the men of Israel, who 
pursued and smote them, until they came to Beth- 
car. Thus the way was prepared for the restoration 
of the ark, that symbol of the divine presence and 
favor, to its appointed place, in Shiloh. This suc- 
cess and these bright prospects, in the view of pious 
Samuel, demanded a grateful acknowedgment to 
Him who had thus blessed him and his people, in 



4 

their contest with " the uncircumcised Philistines," 
and so far restored to the repenting children of 
Israel this token of his favor and their wonted relig- 
ious privileges, with the hope of seeing still better 
days. Accordingly, he " took a stone and set it 
between Mizpeh and Shen ; and called the name of 
it Ebenezer, [a stone of help,] saying: Hitherto 
hath the Lord helped us." 

This example of devout and thankful acknowl- 
edgment of the goodness of God, is worthy of 
imitation by all, who can look back and recollect 
seasons of divine interposition in their favor, and 
call to mind blessings bestowed upon them ; whether 
in their individual capacity, or in any of the various 
relations of life which they sustain. I have thought, 
therefore, that the text would form a suitable intro- 
duction to a discourse on the present occasion ; and 
might lead both you and me, my brethren, to some 
interesting recollections and meditations ; might call 
into exercise some pure emotions of gratitude to 
our Heavenly Father, and induce us to form new 
resolutions of obedience and devotion to his service. 
For this is the nearest Sabbath to the tenth anniver- 
sary of my installation and induction into the office 
of pastor and teacher of the Congregational Church 
and Society in this place. 

So far as it regards myself, I might indeed go 
further back, in my recollections and acknowledg- 
ments. For within a week of this day, no less 
than four anniversaries, of great interest to me, are 
clustered together — my birth-day, the day of my 



first public consecration to the work of the gospel 
ministry, tlie time of my formal introduction into 
the oflice of a teacher in one of the schools of the 
prophets, and finally, my consecrated connection 
with you, as pastor and teacher of this church. 

This is my birth-day ; and if any one should 
address me in the language of Pharaoh to Jacob, 
and ask, "How old art thour" I should not an- 
swer in the complaining language of that much 
afflicted and greatly tried patriarch : " Few and 
evil have the days of the years of my life been ; 
and have not attained to the days of the years of 
the life of my fathers, in the days of their pilgrim- 
age." No ! for I could not thus answer with truth. 
But 1 should rather say : ' Many and good have 
the days of the years of my life been ; and I have 
fully attained to the days of the years of my fathers 
in their pilgrimage.' For I am this day threescore 
mid seventeen years old — seven years beyond the 
common a^e even of those who live out all their 
days — having been born at Cohasset, on the 20th 
day of March, 1776, three months and a half before 
the birth of our country — before the declaration 
of the independence of the United States of 
America. 

This day, likewise, is near to the anniversary of 
my ordination ; for on the 16th day of March, 1803, 
fifty years ago last Wednesday, I was ordamed to 
the work of the gospel ministry, and constituted 
pastor of the " First Congregational Church in 
Dedham." There I continued fifteen years, labor- 



6 

ing with great satisfaction, and not without apparent 
success, among a people whom I loved, and by 
whom I was treated with kindness and respect ; — 
from whom, therefore, I was reluctantly separated ; 
but in obedience to a call of Providence, and under 
an ecclesiastical sanction which I could not dis- 
regard. 

Another anniversary, to which I have likewise 
alluded, occurred on Friday last. For on the 18th 
day of March, 1818, thirty-five years ago, my in- 
auguration, as the presiding officer of Middlebury 
College, took place. In that position I remained 
more than twenty-one years ; laboring substantially 
in the same cause, to which I had been previously 
devoted ; preaching and teaching, in the pulpit and 
in the lecture-room ; assisting, as I was able, in the 
training of many precious young men, for the service 
of the church, of their country and the world ; and 
securing, at the same time, to a large and beloved 
family of my own, as I hope and believe, a sound 
and liberal education, for the benefit of their gen- 
eration. 

The fourth and last-named anniversary in the clus- 
ter, will occur on Tuesday next. For on the 22d day 
of March, 1843, ten years ago, at the age of sixty- 
seven, forty years from the time of my ordination 
and first settlement in Dedham, I was installed as 
pastor of this church, and charged anew to preach 
the everlasting gospel with all patience and long- 
suffering. Such an instance of late re-settlement 
in the ministry is not to be found, I believe, in the 



ecclesiastical history of New England. But it took 
place in accordance with my earnest desire. For 
when I took a dismission from Dedham, it was with 
a full purpose, if permitted, to leave the business of 
college instruction, in season for re-settlement in 
the ministry, that I might spend my last days alto- 
gether in the work to which I had been devoted, 
with the hope of finishing my course with joy, 
" close to the altar of God." In this desire I have 
been so far gratified. For here I have been labor- 
ing for these ten years — too languidly I confess, 
and with many obstacles to encounter — yet with a 
good degree of satisfaction ; and, I hope, with 
some benefit to the church and to the cause of 
truth and righteousness. But, at present, I will 
proceed no further in speaking of myself exclusively. 
For the naming of this fourth anniversary brings 
before me scenes, and revives recollections, equally 
interesting, my brethren, to you and to me. To 
the consideration of these reminiscences, let me ask 
your candid attention ; while, with truth and sim- 
plicity, I briefly recount what I recollect, calculated 
to call forth our grateful acknowledgments of the 
goodness of God toward us ; and induce us, with 
united hearts and hands, to set up a memorial to 
his praise. For, in the review, I am confident we 
shall find occasion to say : " Hitherto hath the Lord 
helped us." 

When I came here, ten years ago, I found a reg- 
ularly organized Congregational church* of about 

* See Appendix, Note A. 



8 

one hundred members, and a small society loosely 
connected with it ; surrounded, or rather inter- 
mingled with the members of two other societies, 
Methodist and Universalist ; in the midst of a pop- 
ulation, within the limits of the township, of 1,300 
or 1,400, including a few persons who attended 
public worship in other towns, and many who 
attended nowhere, and considered themselves as 
belonging to no religious association. The propor- 
tion of these several classes of the inhabitants of 
Dudley, 1 could not ascertain with sufficient accu- 
racy, to justify me in making a numerical statement. 
The latter class, however — the non-attendants — 
seemed to be much the largest. Of course, the 
number of stated attendants in this house was small, 
and that of the constant attendants much smaller. 
Though a few seemed to be truly devoted to God 
and his service, loving Zion and mourning over her 
desolations ; yet a general spirit of languor and 
discouragement seemed to me to have pervaded the 
community, and even to have crept into the church. 
Indeed, it was evident, that this spirit had been 
long spreading itself abroad, and weakening the 
bonds of this religious society. The fact that they 
had suffered this house to be sold, to pay the salary 
of a former minister, and thus become the property 
of individual proprietors,* with that other fact, that 
their legal organization had been lost, so that as a 
society they had become incapable of holding prop- 

* See Note B. 



erty, or of securing the fulfillment of joint obliga- 
tions, proves conclusively, that this despondency 
had nearly reached a fatal crisis. There was such 
a want of mutual attachment and union of elTort, 
as raised in my mind a doubt whether it were pos- 
sible to awaken a spirit of harmony, and restore 
mutual confidence among the scattered members of 
the former Congregational society ; whether, there- 
fore, I ought to cast in my lot among you, and 
attempt to help those who were disposed to help 
one another, in resisting the downward tendency of 
social and religious order ; and thus to raise the 
hopes and combine the energies of the friends of 
God and his church, and of all who love the cause 
of truth and order and salvation. But believing 
that I had been sent here for a special purpose, I 
came to the conclusion that it was my duty to 
accept the call of the church, and take up my abode 
with you. Nor have I ever regretted the decision. 
For I have been among you without fear ; and I 
cannot but hope that good has been done, and that 
the final result will be blessed to me and to you and 
to many who are to come after us. It does not 
become me to boast, nor will I boast of anything 
done by me alone ; for by the grace of God I am 
what I am, and have done what I have done. To 
Him, therefore, belongs all the glory. Indeed, I 
have more occasion to humble mvself than to boast: 
to mourn over my mistakes and deficiency of action, 
rather than to claim merit, and speak of energy 
and success. But something, I may say without 

2 



10 

boasting, has been done by the various instrumen- 
talities which iiave been put in requisition, to give 
stability to social order, and promote the cause of 
truth and salvation. 

The first thing done for this purpose, was to 
obtain an Act of the General Court of Massachu- 
setts, legalizing the records of the society ; and thus 
enabling the members to organize themselves anew, 
under a voluntary constitution ; so as to hold prop- 
erty and act efficiently as a corporation, agreeably 
to the laws and constitution of the Commonwealth. 
The second step in these preparatory efforts of 
consolidation and union, was to procure the relin- 
quishment of the personal rights of property in this 
house of worship, by a regular transfer of the prop- 
erty, held by individuals, to the newly organized 
society. 

Without these preparatory steps, there could have 
been but little hope of giving stability to a Congre- 
gational society in this place ; or of laying a foun- 
dation for united and continued efforts to secure the 
regular and faithful preaching of the gospel. You 
might, indeed, have had occasional preaching by 
men of all descriptions, coming and going as the 
wind blows and the tide ebbs and flows. But very 
little benefit can result from such a floating ministry. 
It is calculated rather to pull down than to build up 
the best institutions of society — institutions pro- 
motive of peace and harmony — of truth, love and 
salvation. A ministry, to be permanently useful and 
effective, must itself be permanent — must be con- 



11 

nected with a well organized church and a stable 
society — must thus have something to stand upon 
and feel secure. But however important these 
incipient movements, as preparatory to united and 
efficient action, they would have been in vain with- 
out the direct means of religious instruction and 
the instrumentalities of religious improvement, to 
which they are subservient, if not indispensably 
necessary. 

What these means and instrumentalities are, so 
far as they have been used here, for these ten years, 
I will now endeavor briefly to state. Among them, 
that of preaching the gospel I have viewed as first 
in point of order and importance ; and this in- 
strumentality I have endeavored to use faithfully, 
according to the measure of talents and grace given 
me. How I have succeeded, it becomes not me to 
say ; but I may say without impropriety, I have 
preached much, and as well as I could.* I have 
tried to learn the truth and preach the whole 
gospel, as it was laid open to my mind ; keeping 
nothing back which I found clearly revealed and 
evidently stated in the Bible. I have sometimes 
preached in course, following the natural order of 
connected subjects, or the order of the inspired 
records ; and sometimes I have selected my texts 
and chosen my themes of discourse, with reference 
to the changing circumstances of time and place ; 
adapting my remarks to the occasions which called 



* See Note C. 



12 

them forth ; and thus have I endeavored so to 
divide the word of God as to give to every man 
a portion in due season ; and, as far as possible, 
to commend myself to every man's conscience in 
the sight of God. I have earnestly desired to 
preach the gospel, the whole gospel, and nothing 
but the gospel. When I came among you, I came 
with the full determination " to know," or rather 
to make known " nothing among you but Christ 
Jesus and him crucified." How far I have adhered 
to that resolution, judge ye. Say ye, who have 
been my constant, candid hearers, whether I have 
ever indulged myself in political preaching, in spec- 
ulative preaching, or even in controversial preach- 
ing ? My desire certainly has been, to " preach 
the word," the simple word of God, and in the 
plain, direct and simple manner which that word 
prescribes — " speaking the truth in love." 

Of the ability with which I have preached, or of 
the success of my preaching, I dare not speak — I 
cannot speak. I only know that so far as it has 
corresponded with the teachings of Christ and his 
Apostles, it will prove " a savor of life unto life," to 
them that have heard and believed ; but of " death 
unto death to them that perish," whether they have 
heard or refused to hear. Indeed, I expect not to 
learn the full result of my ministry here, and else- 
where, till it shall be revealed in the judgment day, 
and seen in all its consequences, direct and indirect, 
immediate and remote, through the coming ages of 
eternity. The motives-of action and the fidelity of 



13 

execution are all that belong to me. Of these I 
need not speak ; of these I need not even think, 
except in my closet, before a heart-searching and 
a sin-pardoning God ! 

The next instrumentality in order, which I name, 
and which is indeed the next in point of impor- 
tance, is our Sabbath school. This has been main- 
tained, summer and winter, during the whole period 
of my ministry here, under the same approved 
superintendent ; and has been a very efficient means 
of interesting children and youth in the study of 
the Bible, and of leading adults and even experi- 
enced Christians to an intimate acquaintance with 
the word of God ; and thus of preparing them to 
meet the objections of unbelievers and errorists ; to 
judge of the soundness of the preaching which they 
hear ; and to receive with meekness, embrace with 
readiness, and hold with firmness, the truth as it is 
in Jesus. Hence, in the promotion of the cause of 
truth and pure religion among us, I have considered 
our Sabbath school as second to no instrumentality 
but the preaching of the gospel. 

Our monthly church conferences and weekly 
prayer meetings have, likewise, been important 
auxiliaries in the system of means adopted and used 
among us ; — not so efficient, however, as they might 
have been, and as they would have been, if the 
whole church could have been persuaded, as far as 
practicable, to attend the former constantly, in a 
right spirit ; and if all the members of the congre- 
gation would have attended the appointed prayer 



14 

meetings as constantly as they could, consistently 
with health, distance, and special and imperative 
calls of duty. But we are a scattered people, many 
living remote from the place of meeting ; and per- 
haps I have expected too much from this instrumen- 
tality of good. I do hope, however, that whoever 
shall come after me, will receive more aid and 
encouragement in his labors from the prayer meet- 
ing ; and find his hands held up more steadily by 
Aaron and Hur — by the prayers of the church. For 
I am persuaded that the efficacy of preaching in 
any place depends very much on prayer, to obtain 
the aid and agency of the Holy Spirit. No man, 
however devoted to his work, can indeed preach in 
the power and demonstration of the Spirit, with- 
out this co-operation of the church — without that 
united, fervent prayer of faith which lays hold of 
the promises, and brings down the influences of the 
Holy Spirit to give efficacy to the word preached. 
Yes, Paul may plant and Apollos water, but God 
giveth the increase ; and he giveth it in answer 
to prayer. 

I may therefore name, as a distinct instrumen- 
tality of spiritual good among us, a small female 
prayer meeting, usually held and perseveringly main- 
tained once in two weeks. This too, I doubt not, 
has been the means of obtaining spiritual blessings ; 
and I have most sincerely wished that greater num- 
bers of our devout women, old and young, were so 
situated as to be able to meet occasionally for prayer 
and conversation on the interests of the Redeemer's 



15 

kingdom, without being under the restraints neces- 
sarily imposed on mixed assemblies. Such confi- 
dential, unembarrassed meetings of pious females, 
are among the best means of their growth in grace, 
and the best preparatives for exerting an extended 
Christian influence. A minister of much experience 
in pastoral labors and great spiritual discernment, 
once said to me, that he considered the female 
prayer meeting, in a certain village of which we 
were speaking, as the thermometer of the relig- 
ious state of that community. He added, when 
the female prayer meeting prospers there, religion 
in the church and in that community prospers 
likewise ; and when that declines, this also lan- 
guishes ; and many fall away from the faith, and 
from the faithful and earnest use of the means of 
grace. 

Another instrumentality of good used among us, 
likewise under female influence, I must not omit to 
name — a benevolent sewing circle — a society of 
female friends, who meet together and labor to- 
gether for a few hours, once in two weeks, for the 
purpose of doing something for the support of mis- 
sions and the spread of the gospel, especially in the 
waste places and new settlements of our own 
country. And although a portion of their funds 
has sometimes been devoted to other uses, much 
has been done by the association for this purpose. 
But the incidental and collateral benefits of its 
meetings have been scarcely less obvious than the 
direct eifects and declared purpose of the associa- 



16 

tion. These meetings have served to promote kind 
social feelings ; to bring together and hold together, 
in love, many who would otherwise have remained 
strangers to each other. The religious influence of 
the meetings has, as far as I could see, been in all 
respects favorable. For though they have been 
eminently social, affording opportunity for free and 
cheerful conversation, yet the whole intercourse has 
been rendered conservative and promotive of good 
feelings and religious improvement, by the reading 
of the Bible and missionary journals, and more 
especially by the closing devotional exercises. For 
myself, I have always been disposed to encourage 
this social and benevolent association ; because I 
have viewed it as useful and promotive of social 
enjoyment and Christian friendship. I have consid- 
ered it, indeed, one of the strongest bonds and most 
efficient preservatives of the Congregational Society 
in Dudley. 

Still another instrumentality for religious improve- 
ment among us, I ought not to pass over in silence, 
because without it public worship in this house 
could scarcely have been maintained. I refer, in 
this remark, to our associated singing choir. To 
them, and especially to their chorister, for the time 
and labor employed in preparation for the important 
service assigned them in the sanctuary, the church 
and congregation are under great obligation. For, 
though our choir is small, it is efficient and well 
instructed ; and the style of their singing is, in my 
judgment, sufificiently elevated for the solemn exer- 



17 

cises of public worship, and well calculated to pro- 
duce the best effects of church music. 

I name but one more instrumentality of religious 
improvement, which has been successfully used 
among us ; and that is, our stated and systematic 
contributions for missionary and other benevolent 
purposes. This might, indeed, be considered as 
one of the fruits of grace rather than a means of 
grace. But truly it is both — both means and end — 
both cause and effect ; for while it proceeds from a 
benevolent spirit, it serves to cherish benevolent 
feelings and strengthens benevolent principle. In- 
deed, the Scripture adage, " He that watereth shall 
be watered also himself," is applicable not only to 
individuals, but to societies ; so that it has become 
a common remark, founded on common observation, 
that a liberal missionary church will be a prosperous 
and growing church ; but that one which possesses 
no diffusive spirit, and confines all its charities and 
labors to itself, has no vitality in it, and must, there- 
fore, sooner or later languish and die. Truly — 
according to the economy of heavenly origin — truly, 
" there is that scattereth, and yet increaseth ; and 
there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it 
tendeth to poverty." And all this is true of individ- 
ual man and of men associated together. I pity the 
man to whom God hath given riches, and withal no 
heart to enjoy them, or to render them subservient 
to purposes of benevolence. I pity, too, the church 
or society whose charity begins and ends at home — 
where no diffusive spirit of love dwells — where all 

3 



18 

the love professed or seen, is a love of self — w^here 
nothing is done to send the gospel to the heathen, 
and no compassion felt for a vv^orld Ijing in wicked- 
ness and perishing for lack of vision. " O my soul, 
come not thou into their secret ; unto their assembly, 
mine honor, be not thou united." 

As a church and society, compared vv^ith some 
others, v^^e have indeed done but little in the work 
of benevolence. But we have done something ; 
and this has evidently redounded, not only to the 
glory of God, but to our spiritual good — to the 
growth of grace in us, and the advancement of the 
Redeemer's kingdom among us. During the ten 
years of my ministry here, there has been con- 
tributed 

To the American Board of Com. for Foreign Missions, $889 98 
" Am. Home Miss. So. (including a legacy of $500) 1,07135 
" American Tract Society, . . . . 173 45 

" American Bible Society, . . . . 74 55 

" Several other Benevolent Societies, . . 350 47 

Amounting to the sum of ... $2,559 80 

And this is exclusive of what may have been con- 
tributed by individuals, without my agency, to some 
of the benevolent institutions, and to promote some 
of the benevolent operations of the day. To God 
be all the glory, but to us the reward of grace, 
in the fulfillment of his gracious promise to them 
that give cheerfully ; for " God loveth a cheerful 
giver." 

Thus have I briefly enumerated and described 
such of the instrumentalities of good, employed 



19 

among us and by us, as occurred to my mind. 
How much, for good, has been accomplished by 
each of them — how much in establishing Christian 
principle, in cherishing Christian hope and forming 
Christian character, I will not attempt to decide. 
Indeed we cannot see and fully comprehend the 
individual effects, nor even the combined results, of 
these several agencies, till they are brought out at 
the judgment of the great day and viewed in the 
light of eternity. But their general tendency we 
may see even here ; and some of the more obvious 
effects, produced by their combined influence, I will 
endeavor to state with caution and candor, while I 
name some of the changes among us which I have 
observed, and speak of the present condition and 
future prospects of this church and society. 

During the period of my ministry here, seventy- 
four persons have been admitted to the fellowship 
of the church, principally by profession ; and during 
the same period forty-eight members have died or 
been dismissed, leaving an increase of twenty-six. 
Though there has been no season of revival among 
us, in the technical sense of that term, yet there 
have been occasional appearances of increased atten- 
tion to religion, and two marked periods, as evident 
" times of refreshing from the presence of the 
Lord ; " — one of them bringing into the church, on . 
the same Sabbath, sixteen members ; and the other, 
on two Sabbaths, fourteen. To this statement I 
may add, that there has been a gradual increase of 
attention to the use of the appointed means of grace, 



20 

with less desecration, and an improved observance 
of the Lord's day ; and withal a growing attach- 
ment, union and mutual confidence among the 
members of the church and society. So that, with 
a few exceptions, we may be said to be a united 
people ; and notwithstanding a prevailing coldness 
and lamentable inactivity and want of zeal in many, 
it should be gratefully acknowledged that the church 
was never in a better state of communion and fel- 
lowship ; and the church and society never in a 
better condition to act together in harmony. This 
consideration, together with the financial state of 
the society, which was never better, fully reconciles 
me to the thought which the occasion naturally 
suggests, that, as a people, you must soon be called 
to seek another pastor and teacher, or become as 
sheep without a shepherd. 

My age, and the loud warning given me during 
the last summer, of my approaching earthly end, 
compel me to make this announcement ; and I 
make it to-day with great satisfaction, in view of 
your united condition as a religious society, and of 
the bright prospect of your being able, in due time, 
to procure for me a colleague, or successor, who 
will be a pastor after God's own heart, to come in 
and go out before you — to lead you into green 
pastures and by still waters — to feed the sheep and 
lambs of the flock — to win souls unto Christ, and 
gather into his church the elect of God. How soon 
you may be called to act on this subject, or how 
soon you may think it wise to take the first steps 



21 

and adopt the incipient measures in this business, it 
becomes not me to say ; nor do I feel prepared to 
give any definite advice. But at the approaching 
annual meeting of the society, I intend to throw the 
question fully open before you, and leave it, under 
God, to your wise and deliberate decision.* It is 
not my intention, however, to urge the consideration 
of the subject upon you prematurely; nor do I in- 
tend to shrink from duty, or refuse to labor in the 
vineyard of the Lord, while I have any strength of 
body or mind for the holy and delightful service. 
But I shall not, and " I would not live alway ;" nor 
am I willing to stand in the way of a more efficient 
laborer, or become a clog to the chariot wheels of 
the gospel among you. I had rather step out of the 
way, or stand aside for a little while, to behold the 
work of a fresh laborer, and see the salvation of God 
before I die. 

But whether I may be able to preach for a longer 
or a shorter period, or whether you may think it 
wise, or not, to begin immediately to look for 
another pastor and teacher, I embrace this oppor- 
tunity — possibly the only one which may be granted 
me — of addressing you, as if this were my farewell 
discourse, my last salutation, with my last counsel 
and advice. 

But before I do this, permit me again to say a 
few words concerning myself; and if what I shall 
say should seem to you to savor too much of egotism, 

* See Note D, 



or even of glorying, you will, I trust, bear with me ; 
provided that I glory only in the cross of Christ, 
in the grace of God. I have lived a great while in 
the world, and have never been inactive. I have 
said much and done much. But whether what I 
have said and done be accounted, in man's judg- 
ment, good or evil, is to me of little moment, if God 
forgives the evil and approves the good, and I be 
found justified freely by his grace, through the re- 
demption that is in Christ Jesus. Of one thing I 
am sure, that I have desired to learn and do the will 
of God — to ascertain what is true, and to speak the 
truth as it is in Jesus ; — to preach his gospel faith- 
fully, as it lies spread out in the Bible ; and to do 
what I could to promote the glory of God in the 
salvation of men. 

Yes, and of another thing I feel equally sure ; and 
that is, that I have been greatly blessed by my 
Heavenly Father, through the whole course of a 
long life and protracted ministry ; blessed with an 
unusual measure of health, and a firm and even 
vigorous constitution ; blessed with strong powers 
for action and keen susceptibilities for enjoyment. 
All along I have indeed had trials and occasional dis- 
appointments and afflictions ; but I have had grace 
given me to meet and bear them, and have always 
found them working together for good — " mercies 
in disguise." I was blessed in childhood, having 
pious parents, who early devoted me to their cove- 
nant God in baptism ; who gave me early religious 
instruction, and with faithful, and yet tender care 



23 

and authority, watched over me, and restrained me 
from open vice and immorality ; and who endeav- 
ored, by precept and example, to fulfill their cove- 
nant engagements, and " train me up in the nurture 
and admonition of the Lord." I was blessed in my 
youth by having opportunity furnished me to obtain 
a liberal education, and thus to become qualified, in 
some humble measure, by the grace of God, for the 
desired and glorious work of the ministry. I have 
been blessed, greatly blessed, through the whole 
course of life in my domestic relations. I have 
been blessed, not indeed with wealth and abun- 
dance of this world's goods, but with a " com- 
petency vital to content" — with everything needful 
for food and raiment, sufficient to preserve me 
from the cares and distractions and temptations of 
riches on the one hand, and extreme poverty on 
the other. I have been blessed, especially and 
above all, by the renewing and sanctifying grace 
of God — with early grace and continued grace — 
grace sufficient for me — sufficient to lead me to an 
early consecration of myself to his service, and a 
timely consecration to his service in the ministry, 
and sufficient to render me happy in that service, 
and enable me to look forward with hope to a 
blessed and glorious immortality. Yes, and I can 
say, and I desire to say it, with gratitude to Him 
from whom all blessings flow, — I can say, to-day, 
this happiness in the service of my God and 
Saviour, is not diminished, and this hope remains 
unshaken as ever, and even brighter and firmer than 
ever. Yes, with the exception of a single phrase. 



24 

in which the apostle Paul speaks of his warfare, as 
a faithful soldier of the cross, I can adopt the lan- 
guage of that aged Apostle and saj, " I am now 
ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is 
at hand ; — I have finished my course ; I have kept 
the faith ; henceforth there is laid up for me a 
crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the right- 
eous Judge, shall give me at that day ; and not to 
me only, but unto all them also, that love his ap- 
pearing." Yes, without omission or reserve, but 
with a humble sense of dependence on divine grace, 
I can adopt that other strong language of assured 
hope, uttered by the same Apostle, and say, " I am 
persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, 
nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present 
nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any 
other creature, shall be able to separate us from the 
love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord." 
Surely, therefore, I may with propriety here set up 
a monumental stone, and inscribe upon it, Eben- 
EZER ; for hitherto hath the Lord helped me : Bless- 
ed be his name ! 

In closing this discourse, I have a few words of 
exhortation and counsel to address to the church 
and society, collectively and individually ; but before 
I do this, I must request the choir to sing the fol- 
lowing 

MOTETT. 

" Go not far from me, O God ; 
Cast me not away in time of age ; 
Forsake me not when my strength faileth. 
O let my mouth be filled with thy praise, 
That I may sing of thy glory, all the day long." 



25 

And now, in closing my remarks, I do not forget, 
nor would I fail to acknowledge with gratitude, 
that I have generally been treated with kindness, by 
the members of this church and society — by you all, 
my brethren and friends, during the whole time of 
my pilgrimage among you. In this respect, I think, 
I have been distinguished among my brethren in the 
ministry. For although all, who are faithful in the 
service of Christ, are called to labor and endure 
hardness, and even taught to expect, that they shall 
suffer more or less of persecution for his sake ; yet, 
in my case, the labor has been sweet, and the 
endurance comparatively light, and the suffering of 
reproach not very great, either from scoffers or un- 
believers. If, however, in any case unkind words 
have been spoken to me, or reproachful language 
used concerning me, let it all be forgotten ; for, I 
am sure, by me it is all forgiven. On the other 
hand, if I have uttered language of censure and 
severity, to any man, or against any man, further 
than truth and frankness and charity even demand- 
ed, I sincerely lament it, and hope to be forgiven 
by Him who looketh on the heart, and to whom a 
contrite spirit is always an acceptable sacrifice. 

And now, my brethren and friends, by way of 
application, let me exhort you to take courage, and 
continue steadfast in the Apostles' doctrine, and 
united in your efforts to maintain the ordinances of 
Heaven, and the preaching of the gospel among 
you. For your own sake, for your children's sake, 
and for the sake of the generations which are to 
4 



26 

follow, make provision for the continued, stated 
preaching of the gospel of Christ ; though it should 
require strenuous effort and even some sacrifice, fail 
not, I beseech you, to make the requisite provision 
for securing and maintaining an able and faithful 
minister of the New Testament. None other, I am 
persuaded, will meet your demand, or supply your 
wants. You can never be satisfied with mere hor- 
tatory preaching. You cannot live on milk alone. 
No, you must have the strong meat of the gospel, 
properly dressed and decently served up, or you will 
hunger and famish and die. You must have, for 
your minister, a scribe well instructed unto the 
kingdom of heaven — a man whose mind is thor- 
oughly disciplined by education and well furnished 
with Biblical and general knowledge. And you 
must so provide for his support, that he may be able 
to pursue his studies without distracting cares, and 
to give himself wholly to his appropriate work. And 
this, I am persuaded, you can do and will do ; pro- 
vided you resolve, one and all, to put your hands to 
the work, to which you are called as a church, and 
for which you are associated as an ecclesiastical 
society. 

It is true, there are many things here calculated 
to discourage the faint-hearted ; but they may all be 
overcome by resolution and united effort, under a 
firm reliance on the promised blessing of Him, who 
said to his primitive church, and still says to every 
collection of true believers, " Fear not, little flock ; 
for it is the Father's good pleasure, to give you the 



27 

kingdom." It is true, many of your enterprising 
young men, as they come into active life, remove 
from you in pursuit of business, and settle in some 
place more inviting and congenial to their taste or 
fancy. But the same thing is true of almost every 
agricultural community in New England. Those 
who remain, therefore, must be encouraged to come 
forward and fill the places of their fathers, as ihey 
descend to the grave. It is true, likewise, in these 
times of change and easy removal from one place 
to another, some substantial inhabitants and good 
Christians occasionally go out from you. But others 
come to occupy their places ; — perhaps, in some 
cases, not so good, and in others, even better. 
Should these changes, therefore, as they have some- 
times been allowed to do, discourage you ? Every- 
where they are taking place, and must be expected. 
You must willingly give up those that go, and cheer- 
fully and kindly receive those that come — must 
receive them " for better or for worse," and in all 
cases make the most of them that you can. Re- 
cently you have gained by these exchanges, and I 
doubt not that you will gain more and more ; for 
the tide of healthful emigration has evidently turned, 
and, by and by, under the blessing of Heaven on 
the persevering labors of an able and faithful pastor, 
aided by the prayers and united efforts of the breth- 
ren, its influence will be seen in its bearings on your 
strength and courage. 

You cannot, indeed, at least during the present 
generation, expect much acquisition of strength from 



28 

other denominations of associated Christians. Nor 
should you attempt to make mere proselytes in 
name, in opinion, or profession even. Proselytism 
is a miserable business. It finds no place among 
enlightened and well-instructed Christians. It is 
inconsistent with the very genius of Congregational- 
ism, which allows no restraint to be laid upon liberty 
of inquiry or liberty of conscience — nor permits the 
interference of any assumed, uninvited, ecclesiastical 
power. Each Congregational church and society is 
independent, asking advice when it pleases, and 
following it when it chooses ; adopting its own con- 
stitution, making its own by-laws, and standing 
upon its own platform, built " according to the pat- 
tern shown in the mount," as modified and described 
by the Great Head of the church. Thus leaving 
every man free to choose his own religion, it wisely 
forbids everything like proselytism. Do not attempt, 
therefore, to make proselytes, nor encourage your 
pastor to do it.* But may you and he attempt only 
to win souls unto Christ. And for this labor there 
is room enough among you. The missionary field 
around you and in the midst of you is large, and 
already white unto the harvest. Go out, therefore, 
with your pastor, into the highways and hedges — 
go with him as he goes among those who now dese- 
crate the Sabbath, neglecting the house of God and 
the means of grace and salvation ; and strive to bring 
them under the sound of the gospel, and pray, while 

* See Note E. 



29 

he preaches, that the gospel may take effect in their 
hearts, and redeem them from the power and con- 
demnation of sin.* Thus will you strengthen your 
church and society on earth ; thus will you bring a 
revenue of glory to God ; and thus will you give joy 
to the angels and glorified spirits in heaven. f 

But however this may be, and whatever may 
become of the multitudes among you and around 
you, who now forsake the assembling of themselves 
together for public worship, and neglect all the ap- 
pointed means of grace ; you may rest assured, if 
you do your duty and unitedly strive to promote the 
cause of truth and advance the Redeemer's king- 
dom, that you will be blessed. Yes, the blessing 
will come upon you and your future pastor, which 
was expected by a prophet of olden time, when he 
said, " Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I 
be glorious ! " Strive, therefore, my brethren, to 
cultivate and maintain a spirit of union and peace, 
that you may act together, and be strong for the 
work assigned you. Let the cords of love be drawn 
closer and closer, and strive together for the faith, 
for the piety, for the brotherly love, which the gos- 
pel enjoins. Above all, take heed that you do not 
discourage one another, but let every one say to his 
neighbor, " Come, let us go up to the mountains and 
bring wood, and build the house of the Lord, that 
he may be glorified." 

But, while I thus address you collectively, as a' 

* See Note F. f See Note G. 



30 

society, I remember that men are not to be judged 
in masses, but as individuals ; and that each one 
will be called to give account of himself to God. I 
must, therefore, add a word of exhortation to you 
as individuals, as accountable beings, hastening to 
" the judgment of the great day." 

My aged friends, with you I fully sympathize, in 
the immediate expectation of that day. The Judge 
standeth at the door ; death is at hand, and after 
death cometh the judgment. Most of you, I trust, 
are prepared for the summons, and waiting patiently 
till your change come. But O, if any are yet un- 
prepared, and have no good hope through grace, 
let them no longer delay — let mercy, even at the 
eleventh hour, be sought, through faith in the Lord 
Jesus Christ, and repentence toward God. " Seize 
the kind promise while it waits, nor lose the blessing 
by delay." 

My friends of middle age, in active life, with you, 
too, I heartily sympathize. Having with you and 
even before you, borne the heat and burden of the 
day, I know something of the cares and labors and 
trials of life, which now press upon you. Yes, and 
I know, that by the grace of God they can be borne. 
O, be not surfeited by these cares, nor overcome by 
these trials and temptations. Live above the world, 
while you are in it. Use the world as not abusing 
it. " Trust in the Lord, and do good ; and verily 
thou shalt be fed." If you have found and obtained 
" the pearl of great price," be therewith content ; if 
you have not, seek with all diligence till you find 



31 

it ; and then go and sell all that jou have and buy 
it. Thus, and thus only, will you be happy in living 
for the glory of God and the good of your fellow- 
men — happy through life, and blessed forever. 

My young friends, with you I have not yet lost 
all sympathy. For I was once young ; and I re- 
member the vanities and temptations of youth. I 
remember, too, the joys of youth — joys promised to 
all, who early seek the Lord. Some of you, I trust, 
have done this — have chosen that good part which 
can never be taken from you — have found the peace 
and blessedness of believing and obeying the gospel. 
O, that I could hope that this were the case with 
you all ! O, that I could hope even, that it would 
be the case with you all ! O, that I could, before I 
die, see you all earnestly inquiring what you must 
do to be saved, and behold you all pressing into the 
kingdom of heaven, and rejoicing in the salvation of 
God ! My young friends, once more I beseech you 
to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteous- 
ness ; and once more, I repeat the gracious promise, 
that all things requisite for happiness shall be added. 
So may you glorify God while you live, and best 
answer the great end of living; and so may you, 
sooner or later, die in peace, and be forever with 
the Lord ! 

Finally, my hearers, let us all prepare to meet our 
God. You heard what I said concerning my own 
hope, and perhaps some of you thought the language 
too strong. I know that there is such a thing as 
the false hope of the hypocrite ; I know, too, that 



there is such a thing as the presumptuous hope of 
the unbeliever ; and I know that they will both be 
cut off, like the spider's web, and perish together. 
But still I hope ; for I know, also, that there is a 
hope for believers, which purifieth and entereth into 
that within the vail — which endureth, and will prove 
an anchor to the soul, sure and steadfast. I know,- 
moreover, that those who believe in the Lord Jesus 
Christ with all the heart, and obey his gospel with 
all the soul, may have this enduring hope, which 
never maketh ashamed — this blessed hope, even 
in the hour of death. My brethren, we may all 
have it. You ivill all have it, when you have 
that faith which works by love, purifies the heart, 
and overcomes the world. Then will you have 
strength given you, as your day is. Then will you 
find grace sufficient for you, sufficient even in a 
dying hour. Then will you, with the sweet Psalm- 
ist of Israel, and with multitudes who have followed 
him to the bright world of promise and glory, be 
able to look up to your God and Redeemer, and say, 
" Though I walk through the valley of the shadow 
of death, I will fear no evil ; for thou art with me ; 
thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me." Amen. 



APPENDIX. 



Note A. — Page 7. 

The precise time when the Congregational Church m Dudley 
was organized, cannot now be ascertained, as there are extant 
no records of the church during the ministry of the first pastor. 
It is probable, however, that it was organized some time in the 
course of the year 1732, the year in which the town was incor- 
porated. For, as appears from the town records, the inhabitants 
immediately took measures to procure a religious teacher, and 
maintain public worship ; and in a vote of the town the following 
year, reference is made to an action of the church, as then exist- 
ing. Indeed, the preamble to the Act of the General Court, in- 
corporating the town, implies, that the petition for the Act, by the 
first settlers, was founded on a desire to enjoy the privileges of 
public worship, and maintain the preaching of the gospel to 
themselves and their families. The preamble commences thus : 
" Whereas there are many inhabitants, already settled on a tract 
of land lying between the towns of Woodstock and Oxford, who, 
together with others on the south-west part of Oxford, [now 
Charlton,] are vert/ remote from any place of the public ioorship 
of God, and are very conveniently situated for a township, and 
have petitioned," &lc. 

The first person who received a call to settle in the ministry, 
in the town, was Mr. Isaac Richardson. And though an eccle- 
siastical council was called for the purpose, yet, for some reason 
not stated in the town records, and not now known, the proposed 
ordination never took place. 
5 



34 

The first settled minister, as pastor of the church here, was the 
Rev. Perley Howe, who was ordained June 12, 1785, and dis- 
missed in 1743. He was from Killingly, Connecticut, and was 
graduated at Harvard University, 1731. 

Rev. Charles Gleason, the second pastor, was ordained 
October, 1744, and died May, 1790. He was from Brookline, 
Massacliusetts, and was graduated at Harvard University, 1738. 

Rev. Joshua Johnson, the third pastor, was installed Decem- 
ber, 1799, and dismissed May, 1796. He was from Woodstock, 
Connecticut, and was graduated at Yale College, 1775. 

Rev. AiuEL Williams, the fourth pastor, was ordained June 
12, 1799, and dismissed March 16, 1831. He was from Rayn- 
ham, Massachusetts, and was graduated at Brown University, 
1795. 

Rev. James H. Francis, the fifth pastor, was ordained Aug. 
24, 1831, and dismissed June 26, 1837. He was from Weath- 
ersfield, Connecticut, and was graduated at Yale College, 1826. 

Rev. Walter Follet, the sixth pastor, was installed Novem- 
ber 2, 1837, and dismissed September 28, 1841. He was from 
Williston, Vermont, and was graduated at Middlebury College, 
1825. 

Rev. Joshua Bates, the seventh and present pastor, was in- 
stalled March 22, 1843. He was from Cohasset, Massachusetts, 
and was graduated at Harvard University, 1800. 



NoTK B.-Page 8. 

It has been suggested to me, that this statement is calculated 
to leave a wrong impression concerning the design of alienating 
the right of property in tiie meeting-house, in 1833. The design 
was, as explained to me, not to divert the appropriate use of the 
house, or deprive the society of the benefit of that use, but sim- 
ply to raise money to liquidate the debt of the society, (which 
then amounted to the sum of $2,000, or more,) in such a man- 
ner, as to prevent any such diversion of the house by placing it 
in the hands of attached members of the society, who were wil- 
ling to advance money for the purpose, and nominally receive 



35 

shares in the house as their security. The design was unques- 
tionably good, as the generosity of the proprietors subsequently 
showed. But the plan did not work well. It seems to have 
induced some to withdraw from the society altogether, and to 
have alienated the affections and weakened the attachment of 
others. It certainly created a spirit of discouragement, and pro- 
duced an apprehension of further alienation, in my mind, as soon 
as I learned the fact, that a deed had been given in 1833, and 
the transfer of the property confirmed by vote of the society in 
1842. But the readiness and noble generosity with which the 
proprietors relinquished their private rights, and re-deeded their 
shares in the house to the reorganized society in 1843, removed 
from my mind the first unfavorable apprehension. Indeed, the 
whole transaction, in connection with the present financial state 
of the society, will, I doubt not, exert a favorable influence on 
its growth and stability. For now any young man in town, as 
he conies to the age of majority, and any other legal voter who 
desires to worship God, may, according to the by-laws of the 
society, become a member by simply signing the constitution, 
and thus may entitle himself to an interest in the house, and 
secure to himself the privilege of voting in all the legal transac- 
tions of the corporation. 



Note C— Pace 11. 

Uniformly two discourses on the Sabbath, and sometimes 
three, have been delivered, in this house, by me, or some ap- 
proved substitute. On two or three Sabbaths, indeed, I have 
been unwell, and employed some one to read select discourses. 
With these exceptions, and the failure of a preacher, (whom I 
had engaged,) to reach the place, on account of a severe storm, 
not a single Lord's day, during ten years, has failed to bring the 
preached gospel to the ears of all who chose to come hither and 
hear. During the whole of this period, likewise, public lectures 
preparatory to the appointed communion service, once in two 
months, and sermons on the days appointed for annual Thanks- 
giving and Fasting, have been preached without a single failure. 



36 

Discourses, at most of the funerals which I have Seen called to 
attend, and sermons in great numbers at appointed meetings in 
the several school districts in town, have been preached by me — 
some written and some extemporaneous, as the circumstances 
of the occasion and the place seemed to require. A monthly 
church meeting and a weekly prayer meeting on each Sabbath 
and Wednesday evening, with very few exceptions, I have con- 
stantly attended. To these means of instruction and religious 
improvement, I may add, occasional family meetings, for the 
purpose of familiar lectures and expositions of Scripture, have 
been often held, in connection with pastoral visits and preaching 
from hoase to house, " in season and out of season." 

One method of religious instruction, which I attempted to use, 
entirely failed of success — that of giving stated, catechetical lec- 
tures to the children of the church. This I was induced to try, 
because I had found it so pleasant, efficient and successful in my 
former pastorate, where I furnished every child of suitable age 
in the parish with a copy of the Assembly's Catechism, or of a 
more simple manual, with lessons selected from the Scriptures, 
and met them once a month for recitation and familiar instruc- 
tion. But the circumstances, ther-c, were entirely different from 
what they are here. There, most of the inhabitants were of one 
denomination, and I could collect all the children of the sev- 
eral school districts, and most of their parents, in their respec- 
tive school houses, as often as the appointment was made. But 
here scattered, as the families belonging to the Congregational 
Society are, and intermingled as they are with those families, 
which have no religious sympathy with us, I could not collect a 
sufficient number of children with their parents, to give interest 
and efficiency to the exercise. Besides, at that period Sabbath 
schools had not been introduced into the country, and pious 
parents more sensibly felt the need of catechetical and pastoral 
instruction for their children. Perhaps, therefore, I ought not 
to have expected, under existing circumstances, to succeed. I 
name the subject, however, because, in other circumstances, I 
believe judicious pastors may still meet with success, in catechis- 
ing and lecturing the children of their parishes, and find this 
method of instruction for the young peculiarly profitable and 
delightful. 



37 



Note D.— Page 21. 

Accordingly, the following communication was made through 
the Standing Committee of the parish : — 

To the Congregational Church and Society in Dudley. 

Brethren and Friends, — In accordance with an announce- 
ment in my recent anniversary discourse, I now submit to your 
serious and deliberate consideration, whether it is best, for you 
and for me, that my present relation to you, as pastor and teacher, 
should longer continue. I know it cannot continue very long, 
and it has occurred to me that it might be well for you soon to 
take some measures to provide for me a colleague or successor. 
Without dictating, therefore, or even advising, I have thought 
that I ought to remove all embarrassment from your acting on 
the subject, as soon as you judge it to be wise and prudent. Ac- 
cordingly, I leave the subject wholly, under God, in your hands 
and at your disposal, by assuring you that I am willing you 
should act upon it now, or when you think best, and that I shall 
be ready to retire from the office of pastor and responsible 
teacher of the church and society as soon as you find a successor, 
and to take a formal dismission, on the day of his ordination, 
under the sanction of the same ecclesiastical council, which or- 
dains him. Or, if it should be thought best that I should retain, 
at least in form, the relation of joint pastor with the man whom 
you shall choose for your future pastor, I shall cheerfully relin- 
quish all legal claim to salary, as soon as his salary begins. 

Having made this communication with confidence and frank- 
ness, and hoping that you may be wisely directed in whatever 
course you pursue, I subscribe, as your pastor and friend, 

Joshua Bates. 

Dudley, March 24, 1853. 

N. B. This communication was very kindly received, and a 
committee of seven was appointed to confer with me on the sub- 
ject. A conference was accordingly held, and as my health was 
apparently improving, it was agreed between us, that all further 



38 

consideration of the subject should be deferred till the next 
spring, unless some interposition of Divine Providence should 
previously call for immediate action. 



Note E— Page 28. 

This advice I might have enforced by other considerations — 
by motives of the purest benevolence and the highest conser- 
vatism. For a proselyte, drawn over from one name or party to 
another, by persecution, or bribery, or flattery, or even by undue 
persuasion and appeals to passion and prejudice, is none the 
better for the change. Nor will such a convert bring any per- 
manent strength to the cause which he professes to espouse. 
Indeed, unless a man's heart is changed, when he is induced to 
change his name and his profession, even though he should em- 
brace the truth in speculation, he is so far from being made 
better, that he is only hardened in sin and confirmed in iniquity 
by the hypocritical transaction. Should he hold on to his pro- 
fession, it will only be holding the truth in unrighteousness. 
But generally such converts will not hold out ; they will prove 
unstable as water, and soon fall away from the faith and obe- 
dience of the gospel. Those, therefore, who go about to make 
proselytes to their party in religion, subject themselves to the 
condemnation pronounced by our Saviour against the hypocrit- 
ical Scribes and Pharisees of old : " Wo unto you Scribes and 
Pharisees, hypocrites ! for ye compass sea and land to make one 
proselyte ; and when he is made, you make him two-fold more 
the child of hell, than yourselves." 



Note F.— Page 29. 

This exhortation is applicable to the members of churches in 
most of the towns of New England. For in every part even of 
this highly-favored portion of Christendom, there are many per- 
sons who do not attend the stated services of the sanctuary. In 
some places, it is thought, more than one half of the scattered 



39 

population deprive themselves of the benefits of public worship 
and the appointed means of grace. Now, if the gospel is ever 
to be preached to them, the pastors of the churches in these 
towns must go forth as missionaries among them, and preach the 
gospel, as they find opportunity, in school houses and private 
dwellings. But of what avail will preaching be without prayer ; 
fervent, united prayer ? To be successful in these labors of 
love, the preacher must be attended by the members of his 
church, and strengthened and encouraged by their counsels and 
prayers. The time has come, it seems to me, when every pas- 
tor of a church in New England, in these United States, indeed, 
in all Protestant countries, must become a missionary to the 
heathen around him, and every church must act with its pastor 
as a missionary church. Let ministers and Christians awake to 
the serious consideration of this momentous subject, and resolve 
to unite their efforts in this, their appropriate work. 



Note G.— Page 29. 

In this connection I might have alluded to another cause of 
discouragement and its proper remedy. It is certainly a dis- 
couraging fact, that this town is so situated with reference to 
the places of public worship in the adjoining towns, that several 
of our good inhabitants, who sympathise with the Congregational 
church here, and originally acted and worshiped with it, have 
been induced to change their church relation, and now go out 
of town to attend public worship. In most of these cases, differ- 
ence of distance and convenience of travel are alleged as the 
cause, and in some of them with much plausibility and apparent 
reasonableness. Still, the advantage of the change is very ques- 
tionable, when viewed in connection with the many unhappy 
consequences. For wherever Christians leave a church and 
society in their own town, and go elsewhere to attend public 
worship, many evils invariably follow. They thus weaken the 
hands and discourage the hearts of their Christian brethren 
whom they leave, especially if they are few in number ; and at 
the same time they add very little moral power to the community 



40 

whither they go, where they are comparatively unknown, and 
where they are often viewed with a jealous eye. They generally 
lose entirely their proper standing in society, and deprive them- 
selves of the power of acting efficiently in all the social and civil 
relations of life. Above all, they leave their irreligious neighbors 
whom they cannot carry out of town with them, to neglect public 
worship everywhere, and lose all the benefits of religious insti- 
tutions. 

Now, wherever such a state of things exists, and it exists in 
many places besides Dudley, the proper remedy is to be found 
in a united effort to bring back all, who can be persuaded to 
return, by kind treatment and sound reasoning. For too often, 
I am persuaded, they are kept aloof by neglect or some repellent 
influence. And from whatever cause they were originally in- 
duced to leave their native sheepfold, they will generally return, 
when they are cordially invited ; and when they have fully 
learned, by experience and observation, the disastrous effects of 
their scattering abroad ; when they perceive that they can do 
comparatively but little good away from home, where they have 
but few social relations and civil associations ; and especially, 
when they see that they are losing all influence over their irre- 
ligious neighbors, and leaving them, for want of an example in a 
right direction, to neglect all religious worship and instruction, 
and thus to sink rapidly into a state of absolute heathenism. 
No, it cannot be that " good men and true," when they see all 
this, and when they are kindly invited, will refuse to return, even 
with some personal sacrifice to their proper place, and unite with 
their true brethren — their brethren according to the flesh — their 
incorporate associates, to whom they are bound by all the bonds of 
social life and civil institutions, in striving to " build the house of 
the Lord" and promote the salvation of their fellow-men. Yes, 
except in extreme cases, they will return, rejoicing with one of 
old, that they " dwell among their own people," and resolving 
henceforth to worship among their own people, where they 
are known ; where they may have influence ; where they can do 
good, and be happy in doing it ; where they were born ; where 
they have always lived ; where they expect to die, and be buried 
with their fathers ; and where alone their deaths can be precious, 
and their memorials blessed ! 



TOPOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL NOTICES 



TOWN OF DUDLEY, MASS. 



Dudley, in the County of Worcester and Commonwealth of 
Massachusetts, is a frontier town, bordering on the State of 
Connecticut. In its present form, and according to its present 
dimensions, it is bounded on the north by Charlton and Oxford, 
on the east by Webster, on the south by Thompson and Wood- 
stock, and on the west by Southbridge. It is a small township, 
not much exceeding five miles in length from east to west, and 
its average breadth is about three and a half miles. Its super- 
ficial contents, therefore, are about seventeen square miles, or a 
little less than eleven thousand acres. When first incorporated, 
in the year 1733, its area was much larger, including a small 
part of what now falls within the limits of Southbridge, and a 
considerable portion of what now constitutes the township of 
Webster. The former of these townships, embracing the eastern 
part of Sturbridge and a contiguous portion of Dudley and 
Charlton, was incorporated in 1816. The latter, including what 
had been the eastern portion of Dudley, with the south gore of 
Oxford, so called, and a part of the township of Oxford itself, 
received its honored name and corporate powers in the year 
1833, just a century from the time of the incorporation of 
Dudley. And thus was Dudley reduced to its present contracted 
dimensions. 

The centre of this town, in a direct line, is about fifty-five 
miles from Boston ; but, measured according to the route usually 

6 



42 

traveled, the distance is sixty miles. Its estimated latitude is 41<^ 
56' N., and its longitude 71° 54' W. The surface of the land is 
somewhat uneven, but the soil is good and not difficult of cultiva- 
tion, producing naturally the best of timber, principally oak and 
^valnut. The hills, or rather ranges of high lands, running north 
and south, and nearly parallel with the two principal rivers by 
which it is watered, are moist, productive and highly favorable 
to the growing of all kinds of grain, grass and fruit suited to 
the climate. Indeed, it may be doubted whether a tract of land 
can be found in New England better adapted to the various 
purposes of agriculture than that embracing the whole extent of 
♦' Dudley Hill," with its slopes and the parallel valleys and 
rano-es of high lands on either side, especially on the west. 

The rivers, ponds and rivulets with which Dudley abounds, 
furnish hydraulic power sufficient for extended manufac- 
turing establishments. The French River received its name 
from a company of thirty families of Huguenots, who were 
driven from France by the repeal of the edict of Nantz, and 
permitted by the proprietors of Oxford, to settle near its banks, 
where they remained till they were dispersed by the Indians. 
This river, a steady and never-failing stream, taking its rise in 
Leicester and passing through Oxford, forms the eastern boun- 
dary of Dudley, separating it from Webster and furnishing 
convenient mill-seats for both towns. The Quinnebaug, one of 
the most beautiful and productive rivers in New England, runs 
through the whole breadth of the western part of the town, and 
furnishes at least two well-marked sites for manufacturing 
establishments. This river rises on the high lands between 
Connecticut River and Long Island Sound. Flowing from 
Marshapaug Pond, in the town of Union, Connecticut, it enters 
the State of Massachusetts, in Holland, and runs through that 
town and the southern part of Brimfield, where it receives the 
waters of two tributary streams from the west and the north. 
Thence it passes through the towns of Sturbridge, Southbridge 
and Dudley ; and returning to its native State, it unites with 
the French River in Thompson. And, after pursuing a winding 
course of seventy or eighty miles, and having given employment 
and support to thousands, it ultimately, under the time-honored 
name of '* the Thames," which it assumes at Norwich, falls 



43 

into Long Island Sound, near New London. Besides the water 
power furnished to Dudley by these rivers, it possesses the ad- 
vantage of four or five ponds of considerable extent, with natural 
or artificial outlets, and convenient locations for mill-seats. 

HEALTH AND LONGEVITY. 

Notwithstanding these numerous collections of water, the 
inhabitants of the town are peculiarly free from those diseases 
which often infest regions surrounded by stagnant waters and 
extensive swamps. There are, indeed, no such waters or swamps 
here. The undulating surface of the land and the general charac- 
ter of the soil give purity to the water and salubrity to the air, as 
the former runs through the valleys, and the latter moves over 
the hills ; and thus bring health and longevity to the inhabitants, 
and render Dudley a desirable place of residence to those who 
" wish to live long on the earth." An unusual proportion of the 
inhabitants live to old age. Of the two hundred and seventeen 
deaths which have taken place in the town during the ten years 
of my residence here, sixty-three were of persons over fifty 
years of age ; twenty-seven over seventy ; eighteen over eighty ; 
and eight between the ages of ninety and a hundred years ; and 
there are still living among us an unusual number of persons who 
have overleaped, or rather have been carried by, the ordinary 
bounds of human life — " threescore years and ten." 

ORIGINAL NAME. 

The original name of the town of Dudley, or rather of the 
tract of country lying between Oxford and Woodstock, and 
extending from the duinnebaug River to the great pond now in 
Webster, and? generally called Slater's Pond was, as it is written 
in some ancient deeds, Shmogunagunkawa, or as in others, 
Chnhanakongkomun, or as printed in Gookin's History of the 
Indians, Chohonokonomum. This name, with its varied orthog- 
raphy, which was probably pronounced in the broad guttural and 
flat nasal tones of the Aborigines of the country, seems to have 
been first given to the pond itself, sometimes even now attempted 
to be called by the same name, or by the compound and more 
euphonious name, as printed on Reach's map, Chargoggagogg- 
Manchoggagogg. As Indian names, as well as those of most 



44 

barbarous and uncivilized nations, generally have a significant 
meaning, and are originally applied to persons and things for 
specific purposes, I did hope when I began this note, to be able 
to discover the meaning and appropriateness of the charming 
name of our own town. But having for this purpose consulted 
all the vocabularies of Indian words within my reach ; read 
" Gookin's account of the Christian Indians," and looked over 
Eliot's Grammar of the Indian language, with the learned notes 
and comments of Du Ponceau, Gallatin and Pickering, I am 
obliged to give up the inquiry without success. 

PRESENT NAME. 

The present name of the town was probably given to it, in 
the Act of Incorporation, in memory of Thomas Dudley, one of 
the earliest Governors and most highly respected magistrates of 
Massachusetts ; or of his son, Joseph Dudley, who was also a 
Governor and Judge in his time ; or rather, perhaps, in honor of 
two of his sons, Paul Dudley, for a time Chief Justice of the 
province, and Col. William Dudley, his brother, both of Rox- 
bury, where they, and their father and grandfather lived and died. 
These two gentlemen, in connection with a Col. Fitch, seem to 
have held by purchase from the original proprietors and by special 
grant of the General Court, nearly the whole tract of land em- 
braced in the Act of Incorporation, except the Indian reservation. 
This reservation, containing about four hundred acres, and some- 
times denominated in the town records " Pegin's Farm," [proba- 
bly it should have been written Pegan's, the supposed name of 
the tribe to which the Dudley Indians belonged, or it may have 
been the name of the head of a principal family only,] embraced 
a considerable portion of the south part of " Dudley Hill," the 
northern boundary line beginning near Newell's Brook, running 
to the top of the hill, north of the present common, and extend- 
ing eastward as far as the ridge of Davis's Hill. There is, 
however, some uncertainty about the bounds of this reserved 
tract. But whatever may have been its location and extent, it 
was subsequently sold or exchanged, under the sanction of the 
government, for a small tract of land near the great pond, which 
is still occupied by a few degraded descendants of the original 
proprietors of these fruitful hills and valleys. 



45 



CHARACTER AND CONDITION OP THE INDIANS. 

Of the condition and character of the Aborigines of this 
region, before the settlement of white men among them, little 
can now be known. The fullest and most reliable account of 
them is given by Daniel Gookin, who seems to have been early 
appointed by the government to superintend the interests, and 
assist in managing the concerns of " the praying Indians," as 
those converted by the instrumentality of Eliot and others were 
usually called. In his " History of the Doings and Sufferings 
of the Christian Indians of New England," I find, however, 
but few allusions to the little tribe or branch of the tribe which 
dwelt in this region. It appears, indeed, that the labors of Eliot 
had directly or indirectly reached them before the time of 
Philip's war, and exposed them to the resentment and incursions 
of the Indians who took part in that war. Under date of July 
2, 1675, Gookin says : " At this time the praying Indians at 
Marlborough were increased about forty men, besides women 
and children ; which came to pass by the advice of several 
Christian Indians, that came to them from Hassanamesset, Ma- 
gunkoag, Manchage, and Chobonokonomum, who (when the 
troubles increased) left their places and came into Marlborough, 
under the English wing, and there built a fort." There is no 
evidence, however, that any of the Dudley Indians apostatized 
and joined Philip, as several of their Nipmetor Nipmuck neigh- 
bors did, either through fear or affection; — some from Weni- 
messet, [New Braintree,] some from Packachooge, [Worcester 
and Auburn,] and some even from Hassanamesset, or Hassana- 
misco, [Grafton,] where Eliot had preached, gathered a church, 
and placed over it as pastor, Joseph Tuckapanawillin. But our 
predecessors in the occupancy of this region, and who are said 
by Whitney, in his history of Worcester county, (I know not by 
what authority,) to be of the Pegan tribe, seem to have remained 
firm in their attachment to the cause which they had espoused, 
and probably most of them returned to their former place of resi- 
dence immediately after King Philip's overthrow, and the cessa- 
tion of hostilities. I have read Gookin's history carefully, with 
a view of learning what I could from him, concerning the Pegan 
tribe, or the branch of it which was found here, when the first 



46 

English settlement was made among them. But I have found 
nothing further worthy of particular notice. The Rev. J. H. 
Francis, however, in a manuscript sermon which I have seen, 
has a quotation from Gookin, (he does not state from what work,) 
of some importance, which I will here transcribe. After some 
remarks concerning Munchuge or Manchage, [Oxford,] he says : 
"About five miles distant from this place is Chabanahmglcomun. 
It hath its denomination from a very great pond, five or six miles 
long, that borders on the south of it. This village is fifty-five 
miles south of Boston ; there is in it nine families.* The people 
are of a sober deportment, and are better instructed in the wor- 
ship of God than any of the new praying towns. Their teacher's 
name is Joseph, who is one of the church of Hassanamesset, a 
I" (J y, sober, pious and ingenious person, and speaks the English well, 
T // ft\ ^^^ '^ ^^^^' ^^^^ "^ ^'^^ Scriptures." From the same manuscript 
ilfK/iHa^' J transcribe the following statement : " In a letter of the cele- 
/ brated Indian Missionary, Eliot, contained in the historical col- 
lections, under date of 1684, Chabanakongkomum is mentioned, 
as one of the places where the Indians met to worship God and 
sanctify the Sabbath." 

Thus it would seem that the Indians, who had their principal 
place of habitation within the original limits of this town, early 
■ embraced the Christian religion ; and from these slight historical 
notices of them, as well as from various traditional statements 
made by the aged inhabitants of the town, and especially from 
the fact stated in the town records, that they subsequently united 
with their white brethren in building a house for public worship, 
and attending on the sacred services of the sanctuary, we have 
good reason for believing that some of them, at least, did come 
to the knowledge and obedience of the truth, as it is in Jesus. 
But where are their descendants ? Gone — melted away — as have 
their brethren, «' according to the flesh," through the whole of 
New England ; — as, indeed, the Indians in all parts of the Amer- 
ican continent are wasting away and disappearing before the 
swelling and sweeping tide of emigration from the old world ; 
and, as some philosophers and speculative naturalists affirm con- 

* Tradition makes the number, at the time of the English settlement 
here, much larger. 



47 

cerning all the inhabitants of the earth, except the Caucasians ; 
that they are all disappearing, and are destined entirely to dis- 
appear, before this enterprising and migratory race. 

SETTLEMENT BY THE ENGLISH. 

At what precise period the first white inhabitants commenced 
their settlement within the limits of Dudley, I have no means of 
determining. Whitney, in his account of Woodstock, as orig- 
inally a part of Worcester county, says : " In the year 1686 
many of the inhabitants of Roxbury pitched upon a tract of 
land to settle upon, which was bounded on the south by Wood- 
ward and SafTery's line ; " that is, the line then recently run by 
the Commissioners between Connecticut and Massachusetts. 
Now, as the grant to the Dudleys lay north of Woodstock and 
that part of Killingly which now constitutes Thompson, it is 
probable that the settlement was made soon after, in the south 
part of Dudley, by these persons, or other emigrants from Rox- 
bury. It is known, indeed, that families by the name of Newell 
and Edmunds from Roxbury, and others by the name of Healy 
from Newton, were some of the first who took up their abode 
among the Indians of this region. It has been conjectured that 
the settlement on lands now in Dudley must have been com- 
menced as early as 1720, and yet it is admitted that no deeds, 
conveying a right to these lands from the original grantees, are 
found of Jin earlier date than 1725. Nor do I find in the town 
records any mention of births or deaths before this period, though 
these records run back seven years before the time of the incor- 
poration of the township. The first recorded birth is that of 
Obadiah, son of Joseph and Mehitable Sabin, January 14, 1725, 
and the second, that of Mehitable, daughter of Joseph and Me- 
hitable Putney, two days later. But these children, it is said, 
were probably born before their parents removed to this region ; 
because there is a tradition well sustained and generally believed, 
that Abigail, daughter of James Corbin, was the first white 
person born within the limits of this town, and that Joseph, son 
of Joshua Healy, was the first male child born here. 

INCORPORATION AND ORGANIZATION. 

But at whatever period the settlement was commenced, the 
settlers had become sufficiently numerous in 1732 to induce 



48 



them to petition " the Great and General Court," for the corpo- 
rate powers of a town, and to justify the government in making 
the grant. The act of incorporation bears the date of June 1, 
1732. The order of the House of Representatives for the first 
town meeting was issued to Joseph Edmunds, empowering him 
to call such a meeting, and directing him to notify " the prin- 
cipal inhabitants" to assemble for the purpose of organizing 
themselves into civil society, as a township, and choosing the 
appropriate officers. Accordingly the first town meeting was 
held at the dwelling-house of William Carter, on the 20th of 
June, 1732, when Joseph Edmunds was chosen Moderator ; and 
the following persons appointed officers of the town for the ensu- 
ing year, viz : Joseph Edmunds, first Selectman; James Corbin, 
the second; Ebenezer Edmunds, the third; George Robinson, 
the fourth ; and John Lillie, the fifth, and also the Town Clerk. 
For the sake of convenient reference, I subjoin the names of 
those persons who have held the offices of Town Clerk and 
Chairman of the Selectmen from the time of this organization 
to the present period ; with the number of the years which each 
one served : 



TOWN 


CLERKS, 


IN THEIR ORDER. 






John Lillie, . . • 


3 years. 


Amasa Nichols, . . . 


2 years 


Jonathan Newell, . 


2 


' 


Kufus Davis 


6 ' 




Benjamin Conant, . 


26 


1 


William Hancock, . • 


12 ' 




Ezra Conant, . . . 


6 


( 


Morris Lamed, . . . 


7 ' 




Jedediah Marcy, 


1 


< 


Abiel Williams, . . . 


3 • 




Edward Davis, . . 


18 


< 


Baylies Knapp, . . 


2 • 




John E. Eaton, . . 


1 


' 


Elisha Williams, 


2 ' 




John Chamberlain, . 


17 


< 


Augustus T. Allen, . 


2 • 




Aaron Tufts, . . . 


1 


< 


Lemuel Healy, . . . 


10 * 




CH 


AIRME 


N OF SELECTMEN. 






Joseph Edmunds, . 


. 7 ye 


ars. 


Aaron Tufts, . . . . 


15 yea 


rs 


George Robinson, . 


2 


♦' 


Thomas Lamed, . . 


1 « 




Ebenezer Edmunds, 


'. 1 


t< 


Jcpthah Bacon, . . 


5 ' 




John Vinton, . , . 


. 1 


11 


Morris Lamed, . . 


5 ' 




Benjamin Conant, . 


. 13 


<( 


William Winsor, 


1 • 




John Lillie, . . . 


. 1 


« 


John Brown, . . . 


5 ' 




Joseph Upham, • . 


. 5 


(( 


John Eddy, . . . 


6 ' 




Joseph Sabin, . . 


. 1 


<( 


W^illiam Hancock, . 


4 ' 




Phinehas Mixer, 


. 6 


" 


Joel Barnes, . . . 


1 « 




Ebenezer Bacon, 


. 2 


i( 


George A. Tufts, . 


. 1 « 




Jedediah Marcy, 


. 11 


" 


Chester Clemans, . 


1 ♦ 




William Lamed, 


. 3 


(1 


Baylies Knapp, . . 


1 • 




Edward Davis, . • 


. 3 


<< 


Theodore Leonard, . 


1 ' 




Jonathan Day, . . 


. 2 


<( 


Asa E. Edmunds, . 


. 3 ' 




John Warren, . . 


. 3 


<( 


Moses Barnes, . . 


. 2 ' 




Isaac Lee 


. 1 


<( 


Ileuben Davis, . . 


. 1 ' 




John Chamberlain, . 


. 5 


" 


Henry H. Stevens, . 


. 1 ' 





49 



POPULATION AND PATRONYMICS. 

The precise number of the inhabitants of the town, when first 
incorporated, cannot now be ascertained, nor even all the family 
names known. In order to aid those who wish to pursue this 
inquiry, and learn at what period their ancestors took up their 
abode here, however, I add the following marked 





CATALOGUE 




Of Family 


Names of persons, now i 


•esident in the town 


of Dudley, viz ;- 


t Adams 


t Child 


Green 


*Marsh 


Albee 


f Chamberlain 


Grimley 


May 


Aldrich 


Chickering 




MajTiard 


Allard 


Church 


Hall 


McCracking 


♦Alien 


*Clark 


*Hancock 


McDermott 


Amidon 


Clemans 


Harding 


McLoud 


Angel 


Cogswell 


Harwood 


McQuaid 


Anis 


f Conant 


*Haven 


McKenner 


Arnold 


1 Corbin 


^Haskell 


1 Mixer 




Copeland 


Herscy 


Mory 


fBacou 


Corbett 


Hickey 


Morton 


Bary 


Crow 


fHealy 


Moran 


t Bailey 


Cowie 


Holbrook 


Morse 


t Baker 


tCortiss 


Hooton 


Moffitt 


*Ballard 


+ Curtis 


Howard 


1 Morris 


*Barnes 




Humphrey 




*Barton 


ID avis 


Hutchinson 


t Newell 


tBates 


t Davison 




^Nichols 


Bray 


Day 


Jacobs 


Nye 


Beaumont 


Dixon 


jJewett 




Bemis 


Dornal 


tJewell 


Owen 


Bertody 


Doyle 


*Johnson 




Bixby 


]:Dodge 


Jones 


Pain 


*Blood 


Dugan 


Jourdan 


Parmenter 


*Brown 


Durtee 




Perkins 


Browning 


D wight 


Keich 


*Perry 


Bosworth 


Dwyer 


Keiton 


Petree 


Brogan 




Keith 


Pike 


Bracket 


*Eddy 


Kenny 


Pierce 


Brodben 


f Edmunds 


Kerr 


Pickering 


Bottum 


Edwards 


Keyes 


Pope 


Burnett 


JElwell 


Kingsbury 


Powers 


Buss 




King 


Plowffe 


Buckley 


Farley 


Knight 


*Pratt 


Butler 


Earroll 




Prince 




Fitts 


Lapham 


Prout 


*Cady 


Flynn 


"Earned 


Prichard 


Gary 


Fortune 


Leavens 




Gallery 


*Foster 


Lindley 


Quid 


Callahan 




Lindsey 




Campbell 


Gary 


Ijove 


Rawson 


Carney 


Gillmore 


Lyon 


Regan 


* Carpenter 


Goodell 




Keynolds 


Chanley 


Goodspeed 


Mansfield 


Richards 


t Cheney 


tGore 


IMarcy 


Robbins 



50 



f Robinson 


Scarles 


Thayer 


t Wakefield 


Kogers 


Smith 


'J'hornton 


Walker 


Kogin 


Simmons 


Thomjipon 


* Waldron 


Ryan 


Soal 


Tourtellott 


Watson 




Steere 


Town 


"Webster 


tSabin 


tStone 


Tupperdy 


Welch 


*Sayles 


IStevens 


Twist 


Wilder 


Scholefield 


Sullivan 




*Williams 


Shanley 


Sumner 


+Upham 


Winship 


Shelly 






Wheelock 


Slins;sby 


*Taft 


Vickus 


Whiting 


Sly 


ITaylor 


tVinton 


*Wood 



Of these two hundred and seven family names, twelve only 
are found in the town records attached to those persons who 
took an active part in the organization of its government, under 
the act of incorporation, or in the management of its affairs 
during the first two years. These are distinguished in the cata- 
logue by this mark, t. 

Twenty-one other names in the catalogue, marked thus, |, are 
found in the town records before the year 1750. 

Twenty-six others appear in the records before the close of 
the eighteenth century. These are distinguished in the cata- 
logue by a star, thus, *. 

The other names in the catalogue, not marked, are of persons 
who seem to have become inhabitants at different periods, since 
1801. Besides these, many names appear on the records of the 
town, and some of persons distinguished in their respective gen- 
erations, who are gone ; having either been cut off by the divis- 
ions of the township, or removed to other places, or died without 
male descendants to inherit and perpetuate their names. Those 
names on the catalogue which are borne by the largest number 
of the present generation, are the following, in the order of their 
extent : Upham, Vinton, Healy, Larned and Corbin. 



OCCUPATION AND PURSUITS. 

For many years after the first settlement of the place, the 
occupation and pursuits of the inhabitants were almost exclu- 
sively agricultural ; and the population seems to have increased 
with great rapidity, indicating what I have already stated con- 
cerning the adaptation of the soil to agricultural purposes, and 
the favorableness of the region to health and longevity. A large 
number of families came from several towns north of Boston 



51 

and near Salem, about the year 1750. Again there was a large 
increase of inhabitants about the commencement of the war of 
the Revolution ; some from the south of Boston, some from the 
State of Rhode Island, and not a few from towns in the imme- 
diate vicinity. Accordingly I find that as early as 1790, when 
the first census of the United States was taken, the town con- 
tained a population of 1,114. The next census of 1800 gave 
1,140; the next, 1810, 1,226; the next, 1820, 1,G15; the next, 
1830,2,155; the next, 1840, (Webster excluded,) 1,352; and 
the last, of 1850, 1,446. 

From this abstract from the United States census, it would 
seem, that the agricultural population of the town soon rose to 
its maximum, and that the increase since 1810 has probably 
been made in connection with the introduction and progress of 
manufactures ; and that this progress has been uninterrupted, 
except when the principal manufacturing district was taken off, 
to constitute the town of Webster, between the fifth and sixth 
census. Nor can there be much doubt, that this progress will 
continue. For the same conveniences of location, productiveness 
of soil, consequent low price of board, and facilities of intercourse 
with the two great marts of trade, New York and Boston, which 
have recently introduced and are rapidly extending manufiictures 
in leather among us, must give encouragement to the introduc- 
tion of other kinds of handicraft labor. Besides, the manufiic- 
tures of wool and cotton, flax and hemp, depending on hydraulic 
power, already commenced with success, may be extended almost 
indefinitely. A considerable additional use may be made of the 
waters of the French River, on the Eastern border of the town. 
Of the waters of the Quinnebaug, no use is made for manufac- 
turing purposes, at present, within the limits of Dudley; though 
it passes through the whole breadth of the town, and furnishes 
two well-marked sites for extensive manufacturing establish- 
ments. Of the united waters from Gore and Baker Ponds, good 
use is, indeed, made at Tufts-factory-village, as well as of those 
running from Hayden and Peter Ponds, at Marino village. But 
at each of these places the works might be greatly extended 
and the operations profitably increased. In my apprehension, 
however, the hydraulic power, of the highest importance to the 
prosperity of the town, is yet to be developed, brought into use 



62 

and made to operate near the center both of the population and 
the territory. Whenever the unused and nearly useless rights 
on the natural outlet of Warren Pond shall be extinguished, and 
its waters diverted, by a deep canal, into the valley between 
" Dudley Hill " and Leavens or Eddy Hill, in connection with 
Healy's or " Newell's Brook," they will furnish a steady power, 
which may be used three or four times over, and easily applied 
to a succession of manufacturing establishments. This theory 
is founded on the assumption, that the pond is fed by large and 
inexhaustible springs; and the assumption is supported by 
analogy and the known facts, that the pond is deep and 
surrounded by high and well-watered hills. 

CHARACTER OF THE INHABITANTS. 

As to the character of the inhabitants of Dudley, much need 
not be said, as it does not differ essentially from that, which is 
exhibited by the inhabitants of most of the towns in the vicinity. 
No particular traits of character seem, indeed, to have distin- 
guished the first white settlers here, or those who immigrated to 
the place and associated with them, before the commencement 
of the nineteenth century. They were chiefly of English 
origin, descendants of the Pilgrims. They came generally from 
Roxbury and Newton, or from the region about Salem ; and 
they partook largely of the staid character of those, who con- 
stituted the first colonists of Massachusetts. They were indus- 
trious, enterprising, well agreed in their political views, social 
sympathies, moral habits and religious usages. Of course, in 
their early proceedings, as a corporation under the laws of the 
colony, they were generally harmonious. In regulating the 
civil and social interests of the community and exercising the 
functions of self-government, no important difference of opinion 
or alienation of feeling, seems to have arisen among them for 
many years after the incorporation of the township. They 
thought alike, and acted together for their mutual benefit and 
the general good. This harmony of sentiment and union of 
action, which appears in all the early records of the town, is 
made peculiarly evident to those who read that portion of these 
records, which relates to the Revolutionary war. In the pur- 
suit of civil liberty and national independence, all were uiiited. 



63 

Not an opposing vote was passed, nor a dissenting voice raised, 
in town-meetinof, during the whole period of that self-denying 
struggle, and amid all the privations, which the times and the 
unequal contest imposed upon the country. They were willing 
to stand in their lot and bear their full proportion of the burden. 
Every call for men and money, to carry forward the work of the 
Revolution, was met with apparent cheerfulness, and answered 
with promptitude and a self-sacrificing spirit. Indeed, some of 
these proceedings seem to have indicated a firmness of spirit and 
energy of purpose, which nothing could subdue ; and to have 
been adopted with a readiness and determination, to go forward 
at all hazards, as if the whole business and burden of the 
Revolutionary war depended on the counsels and action of 
these primary assemblies of the people. The Declaration of 
Independence, made in Congress on the 4th of July, 177G, was 
no sooner presented in town-meeting, than it was adopted, 
and placed on the records of the town, as if it had originated 
with them and required their direct sanction — as if Jefferson 
had reported it to the meeting, and Adams had stood before 
them, and defended it with his manly eloquence. 

One of the most conclusive proofs of their patriotism and 
patient submission to personal privations for the public good, is 
a sumptuary regulation, reported by a large Committee of the 
town, in accordance with an Act of the General Court, and 
unanimously adopted in town-meeting, by which the price of 
labor, produce, food and raiment, entertainment for man and 
beast, and even of the favorite beverage of the times, was 
definitely fixed, and made an indispensable rule of action, like 
the laws of the Medes and Persians. Whoever, therefore, 
wishes to know how the mighty and unequal struggle was 
successfully carried on against the consolidated power of the 
British empire, by these American colonies, must direct his 
inquiries to first principles and particular facts, like these, — 
must search the early records of this and other towns, and 
observe the union and energy of their proceedings and the self- 
sacrificing and patriotic spirit which moved them. Yes ; and 
he may thus learn, that it was the action of these primary 
assemblies of the people, as De Tocqueville has well said, that 
planted the germ of the American Revolution, and nourished to 
maturity the tree of American liberty and independence. 



54 



ECCLESIASTICAL RELATIONS, 

The ecclesiastical history of the town may be given in a few 
words. The first settlers seem to have commenced their social 
religious action with wisdom and good counsel. As soon as 
they obtained an act of incorporation and began to exist as a 
civil society, they took measures to become an ecclesiastical 
society. They made provision, without unnecessary delay, to 
build a suitable house for public worship and secure the labors 
of a religious teacher and stated preacher of the gospel. On 
the 30th of January, 1734, it was determined by vote in town- 
meeting, to erect the proposed meeting-house, on " Joshua 
Pegin's old field," provided the land could be procured for that 
purpose ; and on the 27th day of the following March, it was 
voted, to accept four acres for this and other public purposes, 
presented by the original Indian proprietors, on the top of 
" Dudley Hill ; " and to perform the conditions, viz : " to allow 
the Indians a convenient seat or seats in our meeting-house, 
when it is up." Accordingly the frame of the house was raised 
on the 23d of October, 1734; and the building erected near the 
spot, where the Congregational meeting-house now stands. To 
aid them in this expensive undertaking, they applied for assist- 
ance to the Messrs. Dudley ; and received a donation of =£100 
and a lot of 100 acres of land, as a parsonage or settlement for 
the first minister. They also applied to the General Court, and 
obtained an act, authorizing the taxing of non-residents as well 
as the inhabitants of the town for the support of public worship 
and religious instruction. And as far as appears from the 
records, no objection was made, for several years, against this 
equal contribution for the purpose, by direct taxation on polls 
and property, as in all other cases and for all other legal pur- 
poses.* But this happy union, in process of time, was disturbed 



* Probably the complaint, which soon arose among the minor sects of 
Christianity, against the provincial law and the provisions of the Constitu- 
tion of 1780, for the support of public worship and religious instruction, 
never would have existed, nor the alteration been subsequently made, if 
that provision had been really equal — if it had imposed no burden on 
minor sects, in procuring certificates, &c. If the distribution had been 
made according to denominational entries, made in the assessors' books, 
at the time of taking the valuation, one temptation to withdraw from all 
public worship and religious instruction would have been avoided, and this 
salutary provision, like that for the support of public schools, might have 
been retained to this day, in the Constitution of the Commonwealth. 



55 

by causes which might be traced hack to their origin and fol- 
lowed down to their present unhappy results. As such an 
investigation and development, however, would not aid us in 
furnishing a remedy for existing evils, that part of the history 
may be here omitted. I will only repeat, therefore, the obser- 
vation already made, in substance, that there was but one 
ecclesiastical body or organized religious society in that portion 
of the town, which now constitutes Dudley, till the year 1792. 
Previously to this period, there were indeed a few individuals, 
who claimed to belong to particular denominations, among whom 
were a few Baptists in the East part of the town, who finally 
formed a distinct ecclesiastical society in what now constitutes 
Webster. Before their organization, however, instead of draw- 
ing their portion of the taxes for the support of public worship 
by certificates according to law, they were exempted by vote 
of the town from taxation, or their taxes were annually abated. 
This practice, thus holding out a temptation to the penurious to 
deprive themselves and their children of the means of religious 
instruction and the benefits of public worship, seems to have 
continued, increasing the evil from year to year ; till at a town- 
meeting on the 7th of May, 1792, the following sweeping and 
desolating vote was passed by a majority of 13 out of 89 : 
" That all denominations of Christians, except the standing 
order, so called, be exempted from jninisterial taxation." This 
vote, though illegal, seems to have been the natural result of the 
unequal provision for distribution, in the Constitution of 1780, 
and to have been passed, however injudiciously, in a spirit of 
liberality. One of the consequences, (and it seems to have been 
rendered necessary,) was an immediate distinct organization of a 
Congregational society, in connection with the already-existing 
Congregational church. The society thus organized, erected 
their present meeting-house, nearly on the site of the old one 
belonging originally to the whole town, in the year 1824. Not 
far from this time a Methodist Episcopal society was formed in 
the East part of the town, [now Webster.] But some disagree- 
ment concerning the location of their meeting-house induced 
that portion of the society, who lived within the present limits 
of Dudley, to withdraw, and unite with Universalists in build- 
ing what they denominated the Union meeting-house. This 



56 

union, however, did not last long. The Methodist portion of 
the association, after a few years, withdrew, and finally built a 
third meeting-house, on " Dudley Hill." Hence we have three 
places of public worship, in this little village, the center of a 
small township ; where one would have been sufficient to ac- 
commodate all, who now habitually attend public worsliip, if 
they were as harmonious as were the first settlers in town, or 
sufficiently agreed in sentiment and harmonious in feeling to 
worship together. 

SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION. 

Our Schools and provisions for education are in a much better 
condition than our ecclesiastical relations and organizations. 
According to the records of the town, however, it is apparent 
that there was a delay in making proper provision for the educa- 
tion of the rising generation. Seven years elapsed, after the 
incorporation of the township, before any public money was 
raised for the purpose of supporting public schools, or any such 
school kept in town. The cause of this delay, in violation of 
the provincial laws, does not appear ; and when, in the year 
1739, provision was first made according to law for the purpose, 
and for many years after, there seems to have been considerable 
difficulty in forming school districts and making a satisfactory 
distribution of the money raised. Indeed, this subject all along, 
till very recently, appears to have caused much dissatisfaction. 
The present arrangement of districts and the present mode of 
distribution, however, it is understood, give general satisfaction ; 
and will, it is hoped, after fair experiment, satisfy all. In addi- 
tion to the benefits of well arranged and well supported schools 
in all parts of the town, our youth may enjoy, at a trifling 
expense, the advantages of an Academy founded by Amasa 
Nichols, Esq., and bearing his name, incorporated in the year 
1819, and endowed by the Legislature of the State with half a 
township of land in Maine — an endowment sufficient to give it 
a permanent existence. We have, too, a model school-house in 
the center district with a hall well fitted for scientific lectures. 
Nothing seems to be wanting, therefore, to enable the children 
and youth of this town to obtain an education qualifying them 
for all business purposes and the common pursuits of life, except 



67 

a well selected town library, under such regulations that all may 
find access to it and be attracted by it. 

PRESKNT SOCIAL STATE AND FUTURE PROSPECTS. 

I close these notices with a remark on the present social 
state and future prospects of the town. Notwithstanding the 
unhappy divisions which have arisen among us, on the subject of 
ecclesiastical relations' and organizations, in connection with an 
increasing diversity of political opinions — notwithstanding this 
unhappiness and the frequent changes of the manufacturing 
portion of our population, which naturally enhances the evil ; 
still there is a good degree of order and social comity prevailing 
among the great mass of the inhabitants of the town. This is 
owing, no doubt, in a measure to the influence of the correct 
principles and harmonious action of the early settlers, and to 
the feelings and habits which their conservative example has 
continued to foster and maintain from generation to genera- 
tion. But more of this quietness, order, and even kindness and 
courtesy of social intercourse, I am inclined to think, is to be 
ascribed to the assimilating and elevating power of education. 
Not only have the children of successive generations here been 
educated together, and very much alike, in our public schools ; 
but for more than thirty years an academy has been maintained 
in our village, always under the superintendence and instruction 
of some liberally educated gentleman. Of course the youth of 
the town, both male and female, have had opportunity, and most 
of them have improved the privilege, of obtaining a good 
academic education ; thus enlarging their views and elevating 
their, characters ; qualifying themselves to become teachers of 
common schools, and to exercise the various functions of society 
with propriety and success. I may add here that this school, on 
account of its favorable location, is unquestionably destined to 
exert a still higher and more extended influence on the inhabi- 
tants of this town and the surrounding community. 

But whatever may have been the cause, or the combination of 
causes which has exerted so conservative an influence on the 
social character of Dudley, amid the unfavorable influences of 
religious and political divisions, the fact is obvious that Dudley 
village is a place of great quietness, order and temperance ; and 



58 

that peace and an exemption from degrading vices prevail among 
the great body of the inhabitants in almost every neighbor- 
hood within the limits of the town, rendering it, and especially 
the village, a desirable place of residence for those who love 
quietude, and wish to educate their children as far removed as 
possible from scenes of confusion and corrupting influences. 

How long this state of things will continue, we presume not to 
predict. For recently a new element of society has been thrown 
into our community, by the rapidly increasing immigration of 
foreigners — a people of a distinct character — of views, habits and 
manners altogether different from those of the former inhabitants 
of the place. What is to be the result of this influx of a new race 
upon the character of the old mass of the population, no one can 
tell. Whether this new element of society will ultimately be 
absorbed by the old mass, and the character of the mixed popu- 
lation become assimilated, so as to live together in peace and act 
harmoniously, or whether the new element will continue to act 
as a repulsive force, preventing all confiding intercourse, creating 
impassable social barriers, and forming grades and castes in 
society as fixed as those of Hindostan, is a problem which can 
be solved by nothing but time and experiment. It is a problem, 
however, which must be solved, not only in this town, but in all 
parts^of our country. Something of the evils of the unnatural 
mixture of these different races we must for a time experience. 
We see, indeed, that it is lowering the standard of morals, 
diminishing the influence of religious sentiment, increasing the 
number of those who desecrate the Sabbath, and by raising up 
a generation without education, self-respect, and a spirit of inde- 
pendence, endangering our free institutions and liberties, both 
civil and ecclesiastical. Let us, however, hope for the best ; 
and let the friends of liberty, knowledge, religion and human 
happiness, do what they can to prevent this downward tendency, 
this approximation to barbarism, this danger of social alienation^ 
civil discord, anarchy and despotism. Let them strive to har- 
monize the discordant elements of society, promote the cause of 
civilization, and secure the welfare of the generations yet to 
come ! 



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DR. BATES'S 



ANNIVERSARY DISCOURSE, 



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